Autumn is upon us, covering the ground with its majestic colours palette, smoothly and silently undressing all trees of their garments. These months are quite busy in terms of work, so we decided to pay a short, weekend visit to the medieval town of Veliko Tarnovo, in the neighbouring Bulgaria. Veliko Tarnovo lies just 3 hours’ drive from Bucharest, and the weather was perfect for light traveling, to put the mind at ease, and forget most about overthinking. The road up until Veliko feels as a warm embrace from Mother Nature, surrounding you with all Her majestic power and strength. My first impression at Veliko’s entrance was that of a city for which time has stopped at a certain point in the past and no longer continued, ever again. We immediately started strolling around the streets of this enigmatic Bulgarian town, in our pursuit of unveiling its mysteries. The geography of Veliko is a bit strange, at least to me, since the city is somehow bordered by high hills on one side, and by Park Sveta Gora crossed by the famous Yantra river to the other side, so the small town practically stretches in between. Imposing churches, small alleys going downward, one-way narrow streets, some shops with souvenirs, focusing mostly on the widely known Bulgarian heritage and treasure – the Bulgarian rose. We reached the Tsarevets’ fortress entrance, and the sight was incredible, a spectacle of medieval constructions intertwining with nature’s siblings developing under our very eyes. We walked through the old wooden gates, on a large bridge towards the fortress’ location up the hill. Remnants of buildings and walls can be seen everywhere, towers and an extremely big bell, lonely trees, and lonely souls wandering around. History teaches us that Bulgaria was the most powerful state in Southern Europe for almost 200 years (starting with 1185), and Tsarevets Hill was the main fortress belonging to the medieval capital Veliko Tarnovo. Although the day was cloudy, the air was very humid, somnolent, somehow suffocating. We climbed up to the Patriarch’s palace and were stunned to see some sort of unusual church featuring paintings in black, white, grey and with red details - and not painted icons which our Orthodox religion decorates the holy shrines with. We found out that the paintings represent various moments during the history of medieval Bulgaria. So this place felt more like a museum, a very interesting one, the candles inside were not made from wax, and they were electrically lit up. Who can tell when our inner fire burns out as well and we are left with lives to be lived in white, black, grey and maybe, just maybe, sometimes, with red-coloured details?... I love all seasons, I fully enjoy them, I understand their sequence and I am instinctively connected to them. But I have always found autumn interesting from many points of view, especially for what beautiful storms of feelings it tends to create inside of me. I was delighted to step on fallen leaves, inside this obsolete fortress, facing both past and future in an awfully weird amalgam. After our visit to Tsarevets, we went back and started following the path towards Asenevtsi monument, dedicated to the uprising of brothers Asen, Petar, Kaloyan and Ivan Asen II, which led to the liberation of Bulgaria from the Byzantine Empire. Veliko Tarnovo has the scent of an old almanac comprising captivating stories and featuring many chapters, with enlightened emperors, powerful dynasties, courageous tsars, strong rulers, kingdoms, and all those who have contributed to writing and creating the history of Vlachs. We found the monument lying secluded from other buildings, inside of a major park, bordered by Yantra river. The sword located in the middle is a symbol of the power and prosperity of the Second Bulgarian Kingdom. On our way back to the town, we took an alternative route, following the river’s edge uphill. We passed through the old neighbourhoods of Veliko and they were all lovely and charming. We couldn’t have missed Samovodskata Charshia, the crafts streets, which amaze through their authenticity and loyalty to the overall building style. We served dinner in a very traditional inn, the Hadji Nikoli Inn, famous for its scrumptious dishes and genuine appearance; it actually felt as being pleasantly imprisoned somewhere in a previous existence, hopelessly trapped, with no escape. Our steps stumbled upon the cobbled alleyways of old Veliko in a one last intriguing walk, dreaming one last dream of fullness and emptiness at the same time, of evolved solitude and complete togetherness, of blind love and selfish oblivion, all at the same time, confusing and clarifying, overwhelming and releasing, unifying and separating; believers or atheists? ... I guess we will never know for sure. Moonlit thoughts and black sleep highlighted our evening, in emotions induced by this enchanting dusty old town.
Unfortunately, the following day we rushed into leaving without visiting Arbanasi, an ancient village which has preserved wonderful architectural monuments of the Age of the Bulgarian Revival, but it can be an interesting idea for a future weekend escape. Bulgaria is a country that has recently attracted my eye, and does not cease to amaze me. Its jewels are countless, and the styles approached are very different from what I have seen up until now (for more details, read my blog posts about Nessebar and Balchik, both in Bulgaria, but on the Black Sea shoreline). What I like best about Bulgaria is the endless connection to nature, and the extremely beautiful landscapes it humbly shares with all incoming visitors. As Shakespeare said, “the Earth has music for those who listen”, and Bulgaria has a rapturous frequency to which I love to connect to once in a while, with a melomaniac’s pleasure and devotion.
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